Just as Hanzo was furiously questioning White Zetsu, several figures among the stunned Hidden Rain shinobi behind him suddenly turned and ran without a word.
This scene caught even Hanzo off guard, but it didn't surprise Hyuga Kawa in the slightest.
"Since you've come, do you really think you can leave?"
Hyuga Kawa's eyes barely lifted as several black shadows extended and pierced out from his body.
Pfft! Pfft!
The black shadows, like spears, accurately pierced into the chests of several individuals, causing them to let out agonizing, shrill screams.
Seeing this, the Hidden Rain shinobi immediately snapped back to reality, their faces changing. Some even angrily demanded, "What are you doing?!"
"Silence, fools!"
Before that person could finish speaking, and before others could make any drastic moves, Hanzo's icy voice cut them off. "Open your eyes wide. Are those your 'comrades'?"
Hearing this, the Hidden Rain shinobi, who had initially shown anger, paused. They instinctively looked closer, only then realizing that the liquid splattering on the ground wasn't crimson blood, but white fluid.
And those whose chests had been pierced by the black shadow spikes found their bodies gradually eroded and covered by the shadows. Amidst their screams, they were forced to reveal their white forms.
These people were all White Zetsu in disguise.
"How is this possible?" Shinda's voice trembled beside Hanzo. "Kohta, Akihiro, Toshiya..."
Hyuga Kawa paid no mind to the Hidden Rain shinobi's terror. He retracted his gaze and looked at the White Zetsu in Hanzo's hand.
These were excellent sacrifices for performing the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu.
He couldn't let Hanzo kill them and waste them.
With that thought, the black shadow rippled like liquid, spreading towards White Zetsu's body. Seeing this, Hanzo frowned and released his grip.
"No, no! Don't come over! You monster!"
White Zetsu gurgled in its throat, like a frightened child, screaming in terror and frantically waving its arms, trying to shake the thing off its body.
But it was useless. It lost all sound once it was completely wrapped into a black "cocoon."
Gulp! Gulp!
The moonlight struck the surface of the "cocoon," making it subtly wriggle, which made an unsettling feeling well up from the depths of one's heart.
In a deep cavern somewhere in the Land of Rain, a giant pitcher plant quietly closed. Deva Path Pain sat on a stone seat, his eyes closed.
Just then, the stone wall suddenly began to writhe, and a White Zetsu suddenly emerged from it.
"Main Body!"
As if sensing something incredible, it looked at the pitcher plant sitting beside it, its expression surprised and doubtful. "All the White Zetsu responsible for monitoring the Hidden Rain Village suddenly lost contact simultaneously!"
Hearing this, the pitcher plant abruptly opened, revealing Zetsu with its black and white face, who blurted out, "Impossible!"
But in the next moment, it checked itself and found that it really had lost contact.
"What's going on?"
Pain's emotionless, deathly cold voice came.
Zetsu looked at Deva Path Pain beside him and said, "Something might have changed with Hanzo and the Hidden Rain Village."
Hearing this, Pain's expressionless face subtly frowned.
"Could it be the Five Great Nations?" he asked coldly. "Didn't Zetsu say yesterday that many spies had infiltrated the Land of Rain?"
"No," Zetsu shook its head confidently. "They haven't discovered 'my' ability."
Although the White Zetsu that Madara obtained from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path were largely similar in ability, some special White Zetsu individuals actually had their own areas of expertise.
For instance, this half-bodied White Zetsu, possessed by Black Zetsu, was one of the two powerful White Zetsu created by Madara Uchiha early on. The other was the spiral White Zetsu that Obito once wore, the true "Tobi."
The half-bodied White Zetsu was the most skilled at Mayfly Jutsu and Impersonation Jutsu among all special individuals.
It could not only move at high speed to any location by intervening with plant roots in the ground and underground water flows, cutting off all traces during its activation.
It could also absorb others' chakra to simulate and transform into the same appearance and chakra, making it unidentifiable even by the most familiar people or sensory ninjas.
"Tobi" was the special individual most skilled in combat. Its body, when "wrapped" around someone, could use that person's abilities, while simultaneously enhancing that person's overall capabilities, and could also utilize extremely powerful Wood Style.
The White Zetsu sent out to stealthily gather intelligence were born from the division and proliferation of this half-bodied White Zetsu. Even if they couldn't compare to the main body, their disguise and concealment abilities were definitely terrifying.
How could Hanzo and those spies possibly discover them with their abilities?
But, why now of all times?
Why precisely when they were preparing to attack the Hidden Rain Village?
And why exactly when "Lord Madara" had gone to Konoha and wasn't here?
"...In that case."
Deva Path Pain was silent for a long time. It seemed that Nagato, who was controlling him from behind, had withdrawn his consciousness. A moment later, he stood up and said calmly, "We were already planning to kill Hanzo and reclaim control of the Hidden Rain Village. Why not go now?"
Although his words carried a hint of a question, from his tone and actions, he clearly didn't care whether Zetsu agreed or not.
"What?"
Zetsu was also stunned, and the other half, Black Zetsu, also opened its eyes. But before it could say anything, Pain glanced at it with a cold look.
"Is there a problem?" he said coldly.
"This... Perhaps it's better to wait until Lord Madara returns to make plans?" Zetsu cautiously suggested.
The "Lord Madara" it referred to was naturally Obito Uchiha, who had inherited the name of Madara.
Pain gave it a deep look, then stated the fact calmly, "We are, at present, only in a cooperative relationship."
With that, he no longer waited for Zetsu to say anything, and his figure disappeared into the cavern.
Nagato and Konan, behind Pain, fundamentally did not trust Zetsu and the masked man who called himself "Madara Uchiha."
Their current relationship was merely one of mutual utilization and mutual suspicion.
"What do we do now?" White Zetsu asked.
"..."
Black Zetsu's entirely black face showed no expression, but it felt an inexplicable unease in its heart.
The sudden turn of events reminded it of that guy, possibly an "outsider," but it could also be paranoia, a case of the bow being mistaken for a snake.
This was the feeling of another unfamiliar player suddenly appearing on a chessboard where only it had been moving the pieces.
Black Zetsu had not urged Nagato and Obito before, always maintaining a low-key and steady demeanor.
But that was because of its mastery over the past and future of the ninja world. Even someone as powerful as Madara Uchiha was just a pawn to it.
However, the appearance of the "outsider" had completely shattered its composure and arrogance.
If these Rinnegan weren't the ones it had waited a thousand years for, Black Zetsu's personality would likely have led it to steal the Rinnegan and hide by now, at least until the outsider's identity was confirmed.
Unfortunately, it couldn't. This was the best, and last, opportunity. It had to be extremely cautious; no accidents could occur.
But as a "subordinate" of "Madara" now, it couldn't forcefully stop Nagato. After all, Nagato didn't completely trust them yet, and stopping him might arouse suspicion.
"Let Tobi follow Nagato."
After a moment of contemplation, it finally spoke in a hoarse, low voice. "We'll go find Lord Madara. Only he can persuade Nagato."